Iraqis show support for Hezbollah

August 05, 2006|By Louise Roug, Tribune Newspapers: Los Angeles Times

BAGHDAD — With yellow Hezbollah banners above their heads and U.S. and Israeli flags beneath their feet, tens of thousands of Iraqis marched in Baghdad after Friday prayers in support of the Shiite militia in Lebanon.

While gunmen and bombings killed at least 30 people across the country, protesters burned effigies of President Bush and British Prime Minister Tony Blair. Wearing white funeral shrouds to suggest they are willing to become martyrs, many said they are ready to die for Hezbollah.

Shiite cleric Moqtada Sadr, who controls the powerful Mahdi Army militia, had called for the demonstration. It was the largest of its kind in Iraq since the conflict began in Lebanon three weeks ago.

"We are his soldiers," chanted protesters. "The Mahdi Army and Hezbollah will be victorious."

Armed and black-clad Mahdi militiamen mingled among the protesters as they walked through the streets.

"I wish from the bottom of my heart that there is a way to go and fight in Lebanon," said Hassanain Taher, a 36-year-old mechanic.

Though organizers said half a million people participated in the march, American military officials, eager to play down support for Hezbollah, put the figure at 14,000. An Iraqi contributor working for the Los Angeles Times estimated at least 100,000 demonstrators.

Some carried coffins with signs saying "women and children of Lebanon." Local families offered the marchers soft drinks and water in the 110-degree heat.

Despite sectarian fighting, Iraqis are uniting against what they view as a larger threat. Their sentiments might complicate matters for the U.S.-backed government of Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki.

In northern Iraq, where 19 people were killed by mortars and bombs in or around Mosul, Sunni preachers joined in the condemnation of Israel's military campaign in Lebanon.

"What the Israeli-Zionist forces are doing is a clear proof that the ... war is a religious one aimed at destroying Islam," said Sheik Ibrahim Hasan. He called on worshipers to be "like one united body so as to be able to fight the enemies of Allah."

Iraqi security forces struggled to quell the violence in Mosul. Local authorities announced a daylong curfew for Saturday.

The U.S. military confirmed that two soldiers assigned to 1st Brigade, 1st Armored Division were killed in Anbar province on Friday. Iraqi officials said four roadside bombs killed seven people and injured five in separate attacks in Baghdad.